The great part about floral crowns is A) They make a big statement, B) They are actually dead easy, and C) They are pretty darn affordable. It was pretty amazing to see how quickly these were put together, and how different she was able to make each one look. With less than $200 and a few hours to execute, Emily made five crowns, all with different components and styles. (Flowers! Feathers! Berries! You name it, she put it in a crown.)

First up, of course, gather your necessary materials: thick floral wire, thin floral wire, floral tape, scissors, floral shears, wire cutters, flowers and other elements (fruit/berries, vines, greenery, feathers, twigs). While the actual steps above are more or less self-explanatory, Emily had a few extra tips for keeping the process simple, or for modifying this tutorial if you want to add more elements.

Supplies: You might think that with a crown you should use the standard (thin) floral wire you see in the floral aisle as the base, but nope (though you should still buy that, you’ll need it for later). Emily suggests using 12-gauge (4.6 mm) or thicker aluminum wire, which you can get at a craft store, like JoAnn, or a floral supply store, or online. Another option is plastic-coated garden or landscaping wire, again 12-gauge at minimum for shape and pliability.

Choosing Your Flowers: Don’t be intimidated by flower choice here. Just about anything looks good on a floral crown. For some crowns, like the one above, Emily chose a variety of flowers in different textures and colors. But for others, she went softer, using baby’s breath and a more monotone palette. You don’t need a ton of flowers to make your flower crown, so don’t be afraid to buy more than you need and experiment with different styles.

Using Greenery: The above crown was made without any greenery, but maybe you want to add a little texture to the base of your crown before adding your flowers. Or maybe you want a less floral altogether, for the wood nymph look. No problem. The only difference if you are using greenery around the main wire is that you are going to secure it using small amounts of thin green floral wire instead of floral tape. You will then secure the rest of the flowers to the crown using thin floral wire as well.

Arranging The Flowers: When you’re arranging your flowers, start just to the side of center, leaving a gap in the middle (which will become your center focal point). Make sure to arrange all your flowers so that they are facing the same way. Once you’re done with the sides, decide on an element to use as your central focal point. Will it be one larger flower or two (one on each side of the crown)? Add the center point, making sure to secure it well. Floral wire is very bendy and can be wrapped around and through things. After you have your central piece, go back and fill in any gaps with additional smaller flowers or other elements.

Finishing The Ends: To finish the ends, you have a few options. You can secure them either with basic wire or floral tape. You can cover the ends with ribbon (if so, wrap ribbon around wire or tape and secure with hot glue). Or you can add one last flower to the end, having it face the opposite direction so it covers the exposed stems.

Finally, secure the crown around your head using bobby pins and voila! You look effortlessly cool, and it probably took you less than half an hour to do so.

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One of the hardest parts of wedding planning is the emotional work it takes to accept that some things are just out of budget. That no matter how much Googling you do, you aren’t going find that perfect, high-quality wedding photographer who fits your vision and costs less than $2,000 if that person simply doesn’t exist. EXCEPT. Except today, that person does exist.
But all that is why when I first looked at Marj Merges’s images and then read her pricing, I hit my desk with my fist so loud it scared my co-workers half to death.…

Bonus tip: this is also exactly how you make a Christmas wreath, only using bunches of evergreen trimmed short. Even better if you mix up the greens and include some holly. Off topic, but the method is the same, so here is a skill you can take beyond the wedding time!

Brefiks

or you could have a SANTA LUCIA THEMED WEDDING! Would somebody please do this? Signed, someone who is in no way Swedish but owned a Kirsten doll . . .

There is some small faction of me that is Sweedish (enough that my mom calls the meatballs at IKEA the “food of her people”). I think that would be an awesome theme for a winter-ish wedding. The greens and whites and candles. Yummy!

I was just thinking that there need to be more occasions on which wearing a floral wreath is socially acceptable. I rocked it at my First Communion, and I fear that was my only shot. It’s a shame graduation garb already comes with awesome head gear (puffy hat!).

I just made a crown like this for my July 13 wedding, but with fake flowers! That way it was even cheaper and lasted all night long in the 90 degree weather :)

Seren

Hooray! I’ve been obsessed with floral crowns since I wore one in my sister’s wedding when I was 13. I had one for my Jr. prom that my then-boyfriend made with lily of the valley. We’re getting married outside in a rose garden in June of next year. This is perfect! Yay again!

Daynya

I totally need to do this! Super excited. We are getting local flowers from a farm – whatever they have – so I have no clue what it will look like. I don’t really care, it will be amazing. I have a long veil – that I got for free – that I’m not yet dead set on wearing. I wonder if the 2 together would be a tad bit much?

meg

Maybe (though they can be mixed, if done artfully, check out that Pinterest board for inspiration). But you could also do the veil for the ceremony, and the crown for the reception!

Daynya

OH, that is a good idea!! And if I love the crown, I can ditch the veil. Super duper excited!

MEI

I attached a piece of my mother’s veil to the back of my floral crown at my wedding (my mom had a huge full on Catholic cathedral veil, so I took one lacy layer of it which went down about fingertip length). My flowers were daintier than the ones shown here, and I had a pixie cut, so those things may have contributed to the “not too much” thing. But, it looked awesome if I do say so myself. It can definitely be done!

[PS I switched to a sparkly headband at the reception because flowers do get pretty wilty pretty fast when you’re dancing up a storm]

meg

WHERE ARE YOUR PICTURES. Now everyone wants you to do a wordless wedding. Signed, All Of Us

Daynya

For real, PICTURES, please!!! That sounds amazing, and inspiring!

ElisabethJoanne

Consider: Our florist quoted us over $80 each for 4 floral wreaths to cover the chuppah stands. So this is a big value-for-money DIY project.

meg

You can totally probably do it cheaper, though I do think that’s a *totally* fair quote. It’s just that when you do it yourself, you’re not paying for someone else’s skilled time.

It’s definitely important to realize that when you are paying someone else to do something you’re paying for them to do it, not just the materials they use.

Emma

Oooooh, love. It’s officially on my try out list. Plus, bonus — I think my mom would enjoy doing this with for me. Which is important because I know she’s a little sad I’m not wearing a veil. Not because she feels strongly about veils, but because she made my sister’s veil for her wedding and always assumed she’d make mine as well. I actually think she might enjoy this more than making a veil! Takes less time and is easier and cheaper.

My mom made the fabric leaves for the ribbon flowers I made for our wedding. I know she really enjoyed being part of the floral process like that. She made my sister’s veil but I took care of mine. It was kind of fun for me to find things my mom could help with.

If she does do a floral crown for you, get pictures of her doing it!

sarahrose

In Sweden (and the rest of Scandinavia) making floral crowns is a traditional part of celebrating Midsummer, which here is a holiday equally important as Easter and Christmas. So if you want some more inspiration from people who have been making these for a few centuries, google “midsommarkrans” and check out the images.

In Norway you see these floral crowns a lot on their national holiday, and I have always loved them!

Ash

Oh I think flower crowns are going to happen!

How long before it gets wilty? Is it a make-the-day-before kinda craft?

Alexis C.

Yep! I have the same question.

If I needed to do these day-before, what hope do they have looking good next day? I think keeping them in the fridge might help, and I’d have to be more careful about flower choice, but is there anything else I can do other than “last minute” to keep these babies fresh? Any way to water? Would a few spritzes with water help?

P.S. – Thaaaaank you for this awesome and beautiful tutorial!

Keeley

I’d like to know about how long the flowers last too. I wonder how it would look with silk flowers? Or paper ones?

Kate

Agreed! Would love to suggest making them with a group a couple of days prior to the event.

meg

I actually don’t think it’s a make the day before kind of craft, even in the fridge. But do a little test run.

Remy

I’ve loved floral crowns ever since I was a flower girl! Already made one (of silk flowers) for my October wedding. I started with a base of greenery (ivy, in this case) and filled in the blank spots with flowers. It’s definitely bulkier than the ones pictured here, but could work with the right outfit. I love it!

meg

I would have probably shived someone for a floral crown when I was a flower girl. And for a poofy pink dress which I DID NOT GET IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING. But we’re all collected and calm and totally over that 20 years later. Obviously.

Ashley

These are a traditional Hawaiian element — we call them ‘haku lei’ — and my flower girls wore them!

Ash, to answer your question: absolutely flower choice and conditions will make a difference in how long the floral crown will keep. Some flower types (like tulips or camelias) won’t last very long out of water at all, while others (like chrysanthemums) will look good for days. Also, some types of flowers do better than others with being handled; certain types of flowers will show bruising or turn brown if handled too much. And flowers grown commercially for use in arrangements are bred to last longer than, say, wildflowers you pick in a nearby field. If you have your heart set on a specific type of flower for your crown, ask a local floral designer or feel free to shoot me an email and I can let you know if it’s something that will last or something that will easily wilt. Another thing to consider is a flower (or plant)’s stability; something like a succulent will have to be wired securely to the circlet because it doesn’t have a strong supporting stem.

Putting your finished crown in a refrigerator (as long as it’s not TOO cold and there aren’t lots of fruits and vegetables to off-gas and wilt your flowers or turn them brown) will definitely help it to stay pretty, as will spritzing the crown with cool water a little while before you plan to wear the crown. Greenery, such as rosemary, bay laurel, or certain types of ivy will last a fair while and look good without needing water or refrigeration.

Of course, you can always use silk flowers/greenery from a craft store, or make paper flowers to turn into a crown. I’m just partial to the fresh stuff. :)

Awesome. I was a June hippie bride and I made my own flower crown about an hour before the ceremony, using flowers from my mom’s garden (a.k.a. the venue). Two days beforehand, I picked a little bouquet and put it in a vase without water to find out which flowers kept best. Bachelor’s button was the clear winner, and I used a lot of that, plus lavender, clover, poppy pods (but not the poppies themselves, which don’t survive long after being cut even WITH water), and a few big roses for oomph. I learned how to make flower crowns while I was living on a hippie organic farm, and the technique I use doesn’t call for anything except flowers and a little patience. I’ve been wanting to write up a little how-to… maybe this will be the kick I need!

That picture killed me dead. You look gorgeous, and I love all the colors!

Autumn

Another cute cheap option (if your head is on the smaller side) is to buy a children’s dress up floral/princess/fairy crown and add additional fresh flowers. this also allows some part of the crown to last forever.

I have a fake flower floral crown with long curly ribbons that go all the way down my back. I call it my “pretty pretty princess hat” and wear it probably more often than most people would think a 30-something person should. I LOVE floral crowns. Perhaps I need to find excuses to make and wear ones with real flowers too. And now I know how!

Thank you thank you thank you for this post!!!!! I’ve been eyeing them since you started the P&G how-tos!!! I am doing a wedding shoot next month with my makeup artist from my wedding and I am definitely going to make one of these!!!

I’m so glad to see this – this looks like a really good sturdy version that should last a busy bride all day!
‘I’ve promised to make the floral crown for my friend’s wedding in September, as I already have a habit of making them with all-garden ingredients. I make a hoop out of willow or other bendy branches, and then just weave the long stems in an out of the frame. I end up with a crown with a single line of symmetry, rather than a clockwise/anticlockwise one, but I find they work with almost anything you can find in a varied garden. More fragile though!

Emily, do you have any tips for ‘statement blooms’/berries that will be in season in September in the UK? (n.b. please don’t be afraid to use Latin names they are easier to Google and I don’t know American common names) Thanks so much! x

I am making 7 of these for my daughter and the 6 other seniors on her drill team for homecoming. They orginally wanted fresh flowers and were going to have someone else make them, but then decided to go silk flowers so they will be able to have them as a keepsake.
With these step by step instructions, I believe I can do this.

Is there a headband version of this? I was wanting to do a pretty up-do with a dainty-ish tiara-style floral headband but google has failed me. The tiaras are all metal or bulky. I’m currently in the air on the veil or not to veil thing, but that’s okay because the event is a long way off… I just know this is what I want in my hair. lol.

After I originally left a comment I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and
now whenever a comment is added I recieve four emails with the exact same
comment. Perhaps there is a means you are able to remove me from that
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